For many individuals who decide on hair transplant surgery, their least favorite part about the process is the appearance of their hair immediately following surgery. For the first couple of weeks post-op, there may be redness, swelling, and scabs in the recipient and donor areas of the scalp. Some describe the process as having your hair look worse for a small amount of time to look better for the long-term.
It is many individuals’ inclination to cover and hide their hair during this initial post-op period. Many patients desire to wear a hat or hood to shield the appearance of their hair.
Unfortunately, this is not a recommended option for patients so soon after surgery. You may be wondering why not? What harm could a hat cause?
Well, while hats are a great tool to conceal the hair, they happen to rest on the head where thousands of grafts have just been carefully excised and transplanted. Particularly, the band of the hat often sits right on the donor and recipient areas. This is harmful to the grafts, as they are extremely fragile and sensitive during this initial period. Any unintended rubbing or pressure could cause them to fall out, risking all the hours of hard work you and your doctor put in to give you a nice, full head of hair.
We typically suggest patients avoid hats for the first week post-op. While we realize this may be inconvenient appearance wise, it is the best way to ensure the results of your hair transplant surgery.
For whatever the reason, if you wish to have a discreet hair transplant surgery, not allowing people to see or know you had a recent hair transplant, we suggest scheduling your surgery during a slow period where you will be able to take off a few days to yourself.
Here at Modena, we offer flexible scheduling so you can plan your surgery around your busy work and life schedule. If you’d like to learn more about the services we offer, give us a call.